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POET HERO:
MARIA JOSEPHINE BARRIOS
by Trina from Tustin
 Joi Barrios is a Filipina poet and activist. She writes Tagalog poetry (the primary language in the Philippines). To give an idea of the importance of her work, Virgilio Almario, one of the best recognized literary critics and a scholar of Filipino poetry, has stated that there are only four recognizable women poets in Philippine literature. Joi is one of them.Ms. Barrios completed her Ph.D. in Philippine Literature at the University of the Philippines (UP). She taught at the University and also served as an Associate for Fiction at the UP Likhaan: Creative Writing Center. She has won various honors and awards, including the Palanca Award, the most prestigious literary award in the Philippines. During the Marcos dictatorship and the tumultuous years that followed, she became well-known as a freedom activist and rally poet. She has taught in Korea, Japan, and is currently working as a visiting Professor at the University of California, Irvine. In writing about her work, Joi "touch(es) on topics closest to my heart--the love of country, women's issues, history. With these poems, I reaffirm my commitment to the national democratic revolution" (translated from the introduction of her book, Minatamis at Iba Pang Tula ng Pag-ibig - Sweetened Fruit and Other Love Poems). In a distinct, tender and passionate manner, Joi moves the readers of her poems by talking about love, freedom, what it is to be a woman, and what it means to be a human being.
I consider her to be a hero, friend and a great poet.
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Written by
Trina from Tustin
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Traveling Poet: Joi Barrios |
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To read about Maria Josephine Barrios in Spanish, click here to visit Mi Heroe’s Maria Josephine Barrios story.
YANKEE DOODLE GOES TO WAR
I am a Filipina woman.
Yankee doodle came to town
America, America
Yankee doodle comes again
America, America |
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Last changed on:7/19/2004 2:43:08 PM
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